The Devil You Know: Castro and the Mariel Boatlift

Compared to the very sinister, very tenacious, and seemingly invisible threats we face as a nation in 2016, Fidel Castro in the late 70s and early 80s seems downright quaint in retrospect.

Fidel Castro, looking like someone just hurt his feelings.

In 1980, with the threat of communist infiltration and annexation looming 90 miles off the Florida coast, what began as a hail-mary protest turned into an exodus, which very quickly turned into an unlikely human rights crisis, and a public relations nightmare.

This week, join Brian and a very special guest — Jesse from I Doubt it With Dollemore — as they tell the story. We’ll get into everything: from Cuban anti-imperialism to American-style slacktivism, from freedom flights to Scarface, we’ll cover it all.